Identifying Users Sharing Common Characteristics

ABSTRACT

Displaying electronic information in an instant-messaging application includes accessing a first electronic message providing information describing a first user that has an identifier included in a set of identifiers of users of an instant messaging application. A second electronic message providing information describing a second user that has an identifier included in the set of identifiers of users of an instant messaging application is accessed. Content contained within the first and second messages is analyzed to determine that at least a portion of content is common to the first and second electronic messages. Based upon the content analysis, an indication that the first and second messages include common content is provided to the user. Alternatively or additionally, an indication that two users are in physical proximity to a geographic location may be provided in response to detecting that the two users are within a threshold distance from the geographic location.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/679,652, titled “Processing Information Describing Electronic Messaging Users,” and filed May 11, 2005, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/710,670, titled “Identifying Users Sharing Common Characteristics,” and filed Aug. 24, 2005. This application is related to U.S. patent applications being filed concurrently on Sep. 29, 2005, and titled “Searching Electronic Content in Instant-Messaging Applications,” and titled “Personalized Location Information for Mobile Devices.” The entire contents of all of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to the identification of users of an instant-messaging system that share common characteristics.

BACKGROUND

In instant-messaging applications, users may communicate with each other by exchanging instant messages. An individual user may have a buddy list that includes the names of other users, known as “buddies,” with whom the user may communicate regularly. The user may send instant messages to any of the buddies, as well as other users not included in the buddy list, that are logged on to their respective computing stations. Any one of these buddies may store electronic content that can be shared with other users. For example, a buddy may store an “away” message that can be provided as an auto-response to other users to indicate that the buddy is presently away from his or her computing station or is otherwise unavailable to send and receive instant messages.

Away messages can serve several purposes. Many people use them to let others, such as their buddies, know exactly where they are. Others use away messages to provide creative expression, such as by publishing the lyrics of the song they just wrote or a funny quote they just heard in a movie. Recent studies have shown that individuals of certain age groups (such as college-aged adults) not only invest a fair amount of time creating multiple away messages per day, but they also spend a great deal of time reading the away messages of their buddies.

A very common use of away messages is to post your current location or activity so that buddies can easily keep track of where you are and be informed enough to join in your activity if they are up to it. Users often trust this service as a place to keep their personal information, such as contact information, so their friends can get in touch with them at any time. They use it to share information such as links to pictures, web logs (blogs), funny articles, declarations of love to a boyfriend/girlfriend, a countdown until the day they graduate, and other things of value. It is a quick way to provide a glimpse into the user's life and, in most cases, it also may provide a way to get more information about the user if a buddy wants to spend the time to do so.

SUMMARY

In one general aspect, displaying electronic information in an instant-messaging application includes accessing a first electronic message that provides information describing a first user that has an identifier included in a set of identifiers of users of an instant messaging application. A second electronic message that provides information describing a second user that has an identifier included in the set of identifiers of users of an instant messaging application is accessed. Content contained within the first and second electronic messages is analyzed to determine that at least a portion of the content is common to both the first and second electronic messages. Based upon the content analysis, an indication of whether the first and second electronic messages include common content is provided to the user.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. For example, indicating that the first and second electronic messages included common content may include audibly indicating that the first and second electronic messages include common content. Audibly indicating that the first and second messages include common content may include playing a recorded message indicating that the first and second messages include common content, or leaving a voice message to this effect on a voicemail system used by the user.

Indicating that the first and second electronic messages include common content may include visually indicating that the first and second electronic messages include common content. Visually indicating that the first and second electronic messages include common content may include highlighting the identifiers of the first and second users within the set of identifiers, or displaying a graphical icon in proximity to the identifiers of the first and second users within the set of identifiers.

Visually indicating that the first and second electronic messages include common content also may include adding identifiers of the first and second users to a group identifying users with electronic messages that include the common content. The group may be added to the set of identifiers, for example, when more than a threshold number of identifiers of users are to be included in the group.

Indicating that the first and second electronic messages include common content may include displaying a graphical user interface that includes indications of the first and second users as users with electronic messages that include common content.

At least a portion of the first and second electronic messages may be provided to the user. The first and second users both may be available to send and receive electronic messages, or at least one of the first user and the second user may not be available to send and receive electronic messages. The first and second electronic messages may indicate locations of the first and second users, respectively.

Analyzing content contained within the first and second electronic messages may include analyzing the content to determine whether the content indicates that the first and second users are attending a common event. Analyzing content contained within the first and second electronic messages also may include analyzing the content to determine whether the content indicates that the first and second users are participating in a common activity, share a common characteristic, are at a common location, or are within a threshold distance from one another.

Accessing the first electronic message may include accessing the first electronic message from a store of electronic messages that provide information describing the first user.

Other electronic messages for other users may be accessed. Content included in the other electronic messages may be analyzed to determine whether one or more of the other electronic messages include the common content. An indication that the one or more of the other messages include the common content may be provided to the user.

A change in the first electronic message may be detected before accessing the first electronic message. The set of users may be a list of users for which presence information is monitored, or a set of users sharing a common characteristic.

In another general aspect, displaying electronic information in an instant-messaging application includes detecting that a first user that has an identifier included in a set of users of an instant messaging application is in physical proximity to a geographic location. A detection that a second user that has an identifier included in the set of users of the instant messaging application is in physical proximity to the geographic location is made. Without receiving a request, an indication that the first and second users are each in physical proximity to the geographic location is provided.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. For example, detecting that the first user is in physical proximity to the geographic location may include detecting that the first user is within a threshold distance from the geographic location at a time when the detection is made. Detecting that the second user is in physical proximity to the geographic location may include detecting that the second user is within a threshold distance from the geographic location at a time when the detection is made.

Detecting that the first user is in physical proximity to the geographic location may include detecting that the first user is in physical proximity to the geographic location based on GPS signals indicating a position of the first user, or based on information included in an electronic message describing the first user.

A detection that the first user is not in physical proximity to the geographic location may be made. The indication that the first and second users are each in physical proximity to the geographic location may be updated based on the detection that the first user is not in physical proximity to the geographic location.

A detection that the user is in physical proximity to the geographic location may be made. Indicating that the first and second users are each in physical proximity to the geographic location may include indicating that the first and second users are each in physical proximity to the user. Detecting that the user is in physical proximity to the geographic location may include doing so based on GPS signals indicating a position of the user, or based on information included in an electronic message describing the user. Detecting that the user is in physical proximity to the geographic location may include receiving an indication that the user is in physical proximity to the geographic location from the user.

The geographic location may represent at least one from a group including a building, a street, an intersection, a business, and a residence. The set of users may be a list of users for which presence information is monitored, or a set of users sharing a common characteristic.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a networking system that is used for communication of electronic messages.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an interface displaying identifiers of users with whom electronic messages may be exchanged.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are illustrations of interfaces for specifying an electronic message that describes users of the interfaces.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are illustrations of interfaces displaying electronic messages that describe users.

FIG. 6 is an interface for displaying an electronic message describing a user as a response to an electronic message to the user.

FIG. 7 is an interface for displaying electronic messages describing multiple users.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a process for identifying users with stored electronic messages that include common content.

FIGS. 9A-9C are illustrations of the interface of FIG. 2 including indications of characteristics shared among the users for which identifiers are included in the interface.

FIG. 9D is an illustration of an interface identifying multiple users from a set of users with stored electronic messages that include common content.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a process for identifying users that are located at a common geographic location.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of the interface of FIG. 2 including indications of locations shared among the users for which identifiers are included in the interface.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a system for identifying a location of a mobile computing device.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a computing device that may be included within the client and server systems shown in FIG. 1, according to one implementation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Users that share common characteristics are identified based on electronic content that is stored in association with the users. The electronic content of a user may be an electronic message indicating the availability of the user to send and receive electronic messages, or information describing the user. The users may be said to match when at least a portion of the electronic content of each of the users matches. For example, the electronic content may identify locations of the users, and the users may be identified when their locations match. The users may be included in a contact list, and an indication of the common characteristics may be presented on an interface in which the contact list is presented. Alternatively, the users may be included in another group of users that do not form a contact list, in which case the indication of the common characteristics may be presented on a standalone interface. For example, identifiers of the users with matching electronic content may be displayed in the participant list in a special group, or with nearby indications of the matching content.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a networking system 100 that is used for transmission of instant messages, according to one implementation. In this implementation, the system 100 includes an instant message (IM) server 102, a network 106, and client devices 108 a and 108 b. The IM server 102 is coupled to both the client device 108 a and the client device 108 b through the network 106. The network 106 is a wide-area network (WAN) in some implementations, and a local-area network (LAN) in others. The client devices 108 a and 108 b may each include a computing device, such as the computing device shown in FIG. 11. In certain implementations, the client devices 108 a and 108 b may be mobile devices, such as portable computers, cellular telephones, or personal digital assistants (PDAs).

During operation, the client device 108 a may initiate an instant-messaging session with the client device 108 b and send one or more IMs to the client device 108 b during the instant-messaging session. To do so, the client device 108 a invokes an IM application 110 a. In one implementation, a first user manually invokes the IM application 110 a. In another implementation, the client device 108 a automatically invokes the IM application 110 a at start-up. The client device 108 a also may include various other applications that operate at run-time, such as word-processing applications, web-browser applications, or mail applications. When a first user on the client device 108 a wishes to begin an instant-messaging session with a second user on the client device 108 b, the first user initiates a request. This request includes an address associated with the client device 108 b. The IM application 110 a on the client device 108 a sends this request to an IM manager application 104 on the IM server 102 using the network 106.

Upon receipt of this request from the client device 108 a, the IM manager application 104 uses the address contained within the request to locate the client device 108 b. The IM manager application 104 then routes the request to an IM application 110 b on the client device 108 b using the network 106. The IM application 110 b then processes this request and initiates a new instant-messaging session with the IM application 110 a on the client device 108 a. The second user on the client device 108 b is then notified by the IM application 110 b of the new session, and the first and second users of the client devices 108 a and 108 b are capable of exchanging IMs during the course of the instant-messaging session. The client device 108 b also may contain other applications, such as word-processing applications, web-browser applications, or mail applications.

In one implementation, the client device 108 a is capable of sending messages to and receiving messages from the client device 108 b through the network 106 without the use of the IM server 102. In this implementation, the IM applications 110 a and 110 b manage all of the IM functionality on the client devices 108 a and 108 b, respectively. Each of the IM applications 110 a and 110 b is capable of authenticating and locating other client devices to enable the exchange of messages to and from the client devices 108 a and 108 b, respectively.

The client devices 108 a and 108 b include away message repositories 112 a and 112 b. The away message repository 112 a includes one or more away messages that have been specified by a user of the client device 108 a. Each of the away messages may include information describing the user. For example, an away message may include an indication of a current location or activity of the user. In addition, the away message may include an indication of the availability of the user to send and receive instant messages. Furthermore, the away message may be identifiable by a title that may be considered to be part of the away message. In one implementation, the away message may include a profile of the user. The away messages included in the away message repositories 112 a and 112 b may include audio data, video data, graphical data, emoticons, and/or text.

The away message repositories 112 a and 112 b may include multiple types of away messages. For example, the repositories 112 a and 112 b may include online away messages for a user that are provided when the user is available to send and receive electronic messages. Similarly, the repositories 112 a and 112 b may include offline away messages for a user, which are away messages that are provided when the user is not available to send and receive electronic messages. The repositories also may include profiles that include information describing the user. Location away messages, which specify only user location, and mobile away messages, which are used when the client devices 112 a and 112 b are mobile devices, also may be stored within the repositories 112 a and 112 b.

The user of the client device 108 a may make one of the away messages stored in the away message repository 112 a accessible to the client device 108 b such that the away message may be transferred to the client device 108 b for processing or for presentation to a user of the client device 108 b. The user of the client device 108 a may select one of the away messages from the away message repository 112 a based on the information included in the away message. If none of the stored away messages include desirable information, then the user may specify a new away message including the desirable information for storage in the repository 112 a. In some implementations, the user of the client device 108 a may make multiple away messages included in the repository 112 a accessible for transfer to the client device 108 b and other client devices. The away message that is provided to the other client device may depend on an identity of a user of the other client device. For example, a first away message may be provided when the user of the other client device is a mother of the user of the client device 108 a, and a second away message may be provided when the user of the other client device is a friend of the user of the client device 108 a.

In one implementation, the away message repositories 112 a and 112 b may include old away messages that are no longer applicable to the corresponding users. For example, when the user of the client system 108 a modifies an original away message, the away message repository 112 a may maintain a copy of the original away message as well as the modified away message. The old away messages may be made accessible, for example, in the form of a web log (e.g., blog) such that more than just a most recent away message is accessible. Consequently, other users or systems that access the web log may be provided with indications of previous events, activities, locations, or characteristics of the user, as well as indications of more recent events, activities, locations, or characteristics of the user.

In some implementations, the IM application 110 a or the IM application 110 b may be configured to respond automatically to instant messages received at the client devices 108 a and 108 b. In addition, the IM applications 110 a and 110 b may be configured to perform some function identified by the received instant messages. For example, the client device 108 a may represent a mobile device used by a user, and the client device 108 b may be a desktop computer used by the user. In such a case, the mobile device may not include the away message repository 112 a, due to limited storage and processing capabilities. Instead, away messages for the user may be provided from the away message repository 112 b included in the desktop computer. The user may send an instant message from the mobile device to the desktop computer identifying an away message included in the away message repository 112 b to be made available to other users. The automatic response to the received instant message may indicate that the identified away message has been made available to the other users.

In some implementations, the users of the client devices 108 a and 108 b may specify user information feeds that periodically provide to other users information relating to the users. Alternatively or additionally, the IM server 102 may be configured to aggregate the information relating to the users into the user information feeds on behalf of the users. The user information feed for a user may include any information related to the user, such as entries included in an online journal of the user, an away message of the user, a profile of the user, media files of interest to the user, a playlist specifying an order in which the user listens to or watches the media files, recent communications sent and received by the user, and RSS feeds of interest to the user. The client devices 108 a and 108 b or the IM server 102 may periodically provide the user information feeds to other users who have subscribed to the information feeds. Alternatively or additionally, the client devices 108 a and 108 b or the IM server 102 may provide only portions of a user information feed that have been added or changed since a previous distribution of the user information feed.

Referring to FIG. 2, a participant list interface 200 for a given user displays the identifiers of other selected users of an instant messaging system with which the given user regularly communicates and for which presence information is monitored. The other selected users form a participant list for the given user. Communications with one of the other selected users may be initiated through selection of the identifier for the other user from the participant list. Alternatively or additionally, information describing one of the other selected users may be retrieved through selection of the identifier for the other user from the participant list.

The participant list interface 200 includes a text box 205 that contains the participant list for the given user, who is identified by an identifier “MyUser,” as indicated in the title bar 203 of the participant list interface 200. The participant list in the participant list interface 200 includes multiple identifiers 210 a-210 h. More particularly, the participant list includes the identifiers “Buddy1” 210 a, “Buddy2” 210 b, “Buddy3” 210 c, “Mom” 210 d, “Dad” 210 e, “Sister” 210 g, “Boss” 210 e, and “Secretary” 210 h.

Each of the identifiers 210 a-210 h may be selected to initiate communication with a corresponding user, or to retrieve information describing the corresponding user. In one implementation, selecting one of the identifiers 210 a-210 h displays a menu from which an option for initiating communication with a corresponding user or an option for retrieving information describing the corresponding user may be selected. In another implementation, an icon may be displayed next to one of the identifiers 210 a-210 h to indicate that a corresponding user has made available self-descriptive information. The self-descriptive information may include a profile of the other user, an electronic message describing the user, or an electronic message indicating the availability of the other user to send and receive instant messages.

The identifiers within the participant list shown by participant list interface 200 are organized into multiple groups 215 a-215 d. Each identifier within the participant list is associated with at least one of the groups 215 a-215 d. The participant list includes a “Buddies” group 215 a, a “Family” group 215 b, a “Work” group 215 c and an “Offline” group 215 d. The identifier 210 a appears below the heading for the group 215 a because the identifier 210 a has been associated with the group 215 a and the corresponding user is present, that is, logged into the instant messaging system. The heading for each of the groups 215 a-215 c indicates the number of users in the group currently logged into the instant messaging system, as well as the total number of users in the group. For example, three out of the three members of the group 215 a are logged into the instant messaging system for which the participant list interface 200 is displayed. Similarly, the heading for the “Offline” group 215 d indicates the number of other users on the participant list that are not logged into the system (i.e., 0) and the total number of other users on the participant list (i.e., 8). Typically, when users log into the instant messaging system, identifiers of the users are moved from the “Offline” group 215 d to one of the other groups 215 a-215 c.

The participant list interface 200 also includes controls 220 that enable the given user to communicate with the other selected users corresponding to the identifiers 210 a-210 e. For example, the given user may send instant messages, chat invitations, text messages, or e-mail messages to the communications identities referenced in the participant list through use of the controls 220. The controls 220 also enable the user to obtain information describing the other users, as well as to modify the set of other users referenced in the participant list interface 200.

The participant list interface 200 also includes controls 225 that enable the given user to access other information not directly related to sending and receiving instant messages. For example, the given user may use the controls to access e-mail messages or other special features of the instant messaging system. The given user also may use the controls 225 to modify preferences for the participant list interface 200.

Referring to FIG. 3, an away message interface 300 enables a user to maintain a set of away messages that may be provided to other users. The away message interface 300 includes a message list 305 and a message text box 310. An add message button 315 enables the user to add an away message to the set of away messages. An edit button 320 enables the user to edit one of the away messages in the set, and a remove button 325 enables the user to remove one of the away messages from the set. The away message to interface 300 also includes other controls 330 that enable the user to specify how the away messages are distributed.

The message list 305 includes a label for each of the away messages. When one of the labels is selected from the message list 305, a corresponding away message is displayed in the message text box 310. In addition, selecting a label from the message list 305 identifies a corresponding away message for distribution to other users desiring information describing the user. Selecting the remove button 325 after one of the away messages has been selected from the list 305 causes a corresponding away message to be removed from the set of away messages. Consequently, the selected label is removed from the list 305.

Referring also to FIG. 4, selecting the add message button 315 or the edit button 320 causes an away message specification interface 400 to be displayed. Alternatively or additionally, the away message specification interface 400 may be displayed when a user desires to specify or edit an away message that will not necessarily be included in the set of away messages. In an implementation where an away message for a user includes a profile of the user, other portions of the away message that are not the profile of the user may be specified and edited with the interface 400. In other implementations, the entire away message, including the profile of the user, may be specified or edited with the interface 400. In some implementations, the functionality of the interface 400 may be integrated into the interface 300.

The away message specification interface 400 includes a label text box 405, a message text box 410, and text controls 412 with which the away message may be specified. A checkbox 422 causes the away message to be posted to a web log (blog) of the user when selected. A checkbox 415 causes the away message to be saved for later use when selected. Selecting a button 425 indicates that specification of the away message is complete, and selecting a button 430 dismisses the interface 400 without using the away message.

A label for the away message may be specified in the label text box 405. If the away message is added to the set of away messages, the label specified in the label text box 405 is listed in the message list 305. The text of the away message may be specified in the text box 410. The text controls 412 may be used to change the appearance of the text included in the text box. For example, the size, foreground color, background color, and typeface of the text may be modified with the controls 412. In addition, special characters and features, such as emoticons and hyperlinks may be inserted into the text with the controls 412.

Selecting the checkbox 415 causes the away message to be posted to a blog of the user. In one implementation, an indication of the time at which the away message was specified with the interface 400 also may be posted to the blog. Posting away messages to the blog of the user as the away messages are specified provides a history of previously specified away messages. Because each away message includes information describing the user, the blog includes historical information describing the user at various points in time. Access to the blog, or to particular away messages included in the blog, may be limited by privacy preferences set by the user. For example, the user may indicate that the blog is accessible to all users, to no users, or only to users included in the user's participant list.

Selecting the checkbox 420 causes the away message to be added to the set of away messages displayed in the interface 300. Specifically, the label specified in the label text box 405 is listed in the message list 305, and the text of the away message specified in the text box 410 may be displayed in the message text box 310 when the label is selected from the list 305.

Selecting the button 425 indicates that specification of the away message is complete. As a result, the away message may be provided to users desiring information describing the user. In one implementation, selecting the button 425 selects the away message for distribution to the users and also adds the away message to the set of away messages reflected by the interface 300. In another implementation, selecting the button 425 simply adds the away message to the set of away messages. In such an implementation, the user may use the interface 300 to select the away message for distribution, as described above.

Selecting the button 430 discards the away message that has been specified with the interface 400. For example, if a new message is being created, then the entire message is discarded when the button 430 is selected. If an existing away message is being edited, then changes made to the existing away message are discarded when the button 430 is selected. Selecting either of the buttons 425 and 430 causes the interface 400 to be dismissed.

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, an away message display interface 500 displays an away message 505 describing a particular user. The user for which the away message is displayed is identified in a text box 510. The away message display interface 500 also may display separately a profile 515 of the user, particularly when the profile is not included in the away message 505. The combination of the away message 505 and the profile 515 provides information describing the user to an individual for whom the away message display interface 500 is displayed.

Referring to FIG. 6, an away message including information describing a user may be displayed in an instant messaging interface 600, which enables instant messages to be sent and received. The instant messaging interface 600 may be used by a user to exchange communications with another user, such as a user whose screen name is displayed on a participant list interface of the user, such as the participant list interface 200 of FIG. 2A. After a sender of instant messages is notified that a recipient is present and available to send and receive instant messages, the sender may use the instant messaging interface 600 to exchange instant messages with the recipient.

The instant messaging interface 600 includes a message history box 605 that lists the instant messages sent between the sender and the recipient. The message history box 605 also may be referred to as a message transcript box 605. Each message is presented with an indication of an identifier by which the sender or the recipient is identified as the sender of the message. Each message listed in the message history box 605 also includes the text of the instant message sent by the sender or the recipient. For example, the message history box 605 includes a message 610 sent by a user with a screen name “MyUser” and a message 615 sent by a user with a screen name “Buddy1.” In one implementation, each message listed in the message history box 605 includes a time stamp of when the message was sent. The users that sent the messages 610 and 615 are the recipient and the sender, respectively. In some implementations, the message history box may include automatically sent messages that were not specified manually by the sender of the recipient. For example, the automatically sent messages may inform the recipient that the sender has not used the instant messaging interface 600 for more than a threshold amount of time.

In typical implementations, the message history box 605 includes only those instant messages sent between the sender and the recipient after the interface 600 was displayed initially. In other implementations, the instant messages reflected in the message history box 605 may be saved when the interface 600 is dismissed, for example, such that the message history box 605 may be repopulated with those instant messages when the interface 600 is displayed again at a later time.

The instant messaging interface 600 also includes a message specification box 620 in which the sender may specify a message to be sent to the recipient. The sender may enter text to be sent to the recipient in the message specification box 620. The instant message interface 600 includes a set of format controls 625 that may be used to format the text entered in the message specification box 620. More particularly, the controls in the set of format controls 625 enable the user to change the size, foreground color, background color, style, and effects of the text entered in the message specification box 620. The set of format controls 625 also includes controls for inserting objects that are not plain text, such as hyperlinks and emoticons, into the message specification box 620.

After a message has been specified in the message specification box 620, the message may be sent by selecting a send button 625 included in a second control set 630. After the send button 635 has been selected, the text that has been entered in the message specification box 620 is sent to the recipient, and the message specification box 620 is cleared. The message is added to the message history box 605. The message also is displayed in a message history box 605 of an instance of the instant messaging interface 600 being viewed by the recipient. Also included in the second control set 630 are controls for warning instant message senders, blocking instant messages from particular senders, or adding the sender to a participant list used by the sender.

The recipient with the identifier “Buddy1” may be unavailable to send and receive instant messages at a time when the sender with the identifier “MyUser” sent the message 610. As a result, the recipient may have chosen a descriptive message to be sent automatically to other users, such as the sender, that send instant messages to the recipient. The message 615 may represent such a descriptive message, which is why the message 615 is identified as an “AutoResponse from Buddy1.” The message 615 may be processed or simply presented to the sender with the instant messaging interface 600. The sender may continue to send instant messages to the recipient, if so desired.

Referring to FIG. 7, an away message display interface 700 is similar to the away message display interfaces 500 of FIGS. 5A and 5B. However, instead of displaying information describing a single user, the away message display interface 700 displays information describing multiple users. The multiple users may be users included in a participant list of a user of the interface 700. In one implementation, the interface 700 is a web page that may be displayed in a web browser. In another implementation, the interface 700 may be configured for display on a device with limited display capabilities, such as a mobile device.

Identifiers 705 a-705 d for the users are displayed on the left side of the interface 700. Away messages 710 a-710 d describing the users are displayed next to the identifiers 705 a-705 d. A profile or a user may be displayed next to the identifier of the user in the interface 700, for example, when the profile is not included in the away message for the user, or when the user has not otherwise indicated that the profile is not to be displayed. For example, the interface 700 includes a profile 715 a of the user corresponding to the identifier 705 a and a profile 715 b of the user corresponding to the identifier 705 d. In the illustrated implementation, the profiles 715 a and 715 b are displayed next to the identifiers 705 a and 705 d.

In some implementations, a user of the interfaces 500, 600, and 700 may be enabled to submit comments on the away messages and profiles displayed in the interfaces 500, 600, and 700. The comments may be made available to other users that view the displayed away messages and profiles. For example, the comments may be included as part of the away messages and profiles, which will result in their automatic distribution to the other users.

Referring to FIG. 8, a process 800 is executed to identify users sharing common characteristics. The common characteristics may be indicated by electronic content associated with the identified user, such as electronic messages describing the identified users. The process 800 may be executed by a client device used by a user for whom an indication of the users sharing common characteristics is presented, such as one of the client devices 108 a and 108 b of FIG. 1. Alternatively or additionally, the process 800 may be executed by an IM server, such as the IM server 102 of FIG. 1. For example, the process 800 may be executed by an IM manager application of the IM server, such as the IM manager application 104 of FIG. 1. For ease of discussion, the process 800 will be described below as being performed by the client device.

The client device accesses a first electronic message describing a first user from a set of users (805). The client device also accesses a second electronic message describing a second user from the set of users (810). The first and second electronic messages may include current and previous away messages of the first and second users, profiles of the first and second users, comments on the away messages or the profiles, a blog of previous away messages of the first and second users, or indications of the locations of the first and second users. In addition, the electronic content may include other information related to the first and second users, such as information included in user information feeds for the first and second users, histories of messages exchanged with the first and second users, and other information of interest to the first and second users. If the first or second electronic message includes a hyperlink, information located at the hyperlink may be accessed and included as part of the electronic message. Consequently, the electronic messages may indicate events, activities, characteristics, and locations of the first and second users. The client device may access the first and second electronic messages from away message repositories corresponding to client systems used by the first and second users. For example, if the first user uses the client system 108 b of FIG. 1, the client system may access the first electronic message from the away message repository 112 b of FIG. 1. Alternatively or additionally, the client device may access copies of the first and second electronic messages that are maintained by an IM server, such as the IM server 102 of FIG. 1. The first and second users may have made different electronic messages available to different users. In such a case, the client device accesses the electronic messages that are accessible to the user for whom the process 800 is being executed.

In one implementation, the set of users may be a participant list used by the user for whom the process 800 is being executed. In such an implementation, the first user or the second user may be the user of the participant list rather than a user included in the participant list. In another implementation, the set of users may be a set of users that share a common characteristic, such as a set of users that attended a particular college or that work for a particular employer. Alternatively or additionally, the first and second users may be selected based on their use of an electronic messaging application, such as an instant messaging application. For example, the first and second users may be selected based on times since they were last available to send and receive electronic messages, times at which they last sent electronic messages, frequencies with which they send electronic messages, amounts of time for which they have been sending electronic messages, formats of the electronic messages that they send, content of electronic messages that they send, measurements of their popularity, or other indicators of a manner in which the first and second users exchange instant messages.

The first and second users may be selected manually by the user, or automatically by the client device, for example, while processing the entire set of users. The first user or the second user may be selected in response to a change in a corresponding electronic message. The first or second user may be selected in such a case to enable determination of whether the change in the first or second electronic message results in the first and second electronic messages having common content.

The client device analyzes content included in the first and second electronic messages (815). For example, the client device may extract text included in the electronic messages. If the accessed electronic messages include content that is not textual, then the client device may generate a textual description of the non-textual content. For example, if the accessed electronic messages include audio data, the client device may convert spoken words from the audio data to text. As another example, if the accessed electronic messages include video data or an image, the client device may generate a description of what is depicted in the video data or the image. In addition, the client device may access metadata associated with the electronic message or the components thereof. If the electronic messages are away messages, then the client device also may analyze the titles of the away messages. The client device may analyze the content included in the first and second electronic messages to identify events, activities, characteristics, and locations of the first and second users.

The client device determines whether at least a portion of content is common to both the first and second electronic messages (820). For example, the client device determines whether a portion of the text included in first electronic message matches a portion of the text included in the second electronic message. The client device may use standard search techniques when determining whether the first and second electronic messages include common content. Two portions of text may be said to match if the two portions exactly match, or if the two portions have similar meanings. For example, the portions “at the bar on Lake Street” and “going to the Lake Street Pub” may be said to match because the two portions have similar meanings. The client device also may determine that a portion of content is common to both the first and second electronic messages if the first and second electronic messages both include a particular portion of non-textual content, such as an image. The client device also may determine whether the first and second electronic messages indicate a common event that both the first and second users are attending, an activity in which the both the first and second users are participating, or a common characteristic shared by the first and second users. The client device also may determine whether the first and second electronic messages indicate a common location of both the first and second users, for example, because the first and second users are within a threshold distance from one another. In other implementations, other metrics may be used to determine whether the first and second electronic messages include common content.

The client device then provides an indication of whether the first and second messages include common content (825). In one implementation, the client device provides a visual indication of the common content. For example, if the set of users forms a participant list, the visual indication may be presented on a participant list interface in which the participant list is presented to the user, such as the interface 200 of FIG. 2. For example, the client device may add a group for identifiers of the first and second users to the participant list displayed in the participant list interface. The group may be added to the participant list only when a threshold number of identifiers (e.g., two identifiers) are to be added to the group. The client device also may highlight the identifiers of the first and second users within the participant list. The client device may display a graphical icon that is indicative of the common content next to the identifiers of the first and second users within the participant list. Alternatively, if the set of users does not form a participant list, the visual indication may be presented in a standalone interface. For example, an electronic message, such as an instant message, a text message, or an e-mail message, may be sent to the user for whom the process 800 is executed. In such a case, the standalone interface is an interface used to present the electronic message to the user.

In another implementation, the client device may provide an audible indication of the common content. For example, the client device may audibly read the identifiers of the first and second users or the common content to the user. The client device also may present a pre-recorded message to the user. Alternatively or additionally, the client device may leave a voicemail for the user in which the identifiers of the first and second users or the common content are read.

In addition, the client device may provide an indication of the first and second messages. For example, the client device may provide an indication of the common content of the first and second messages. In some implementations, the client device may provide an indication of the common content in response to a request for the common content from the user. In other implementations, the indications of the first and second users that are presented when the first and second users maintain the common content may be selected to reveal the first and second messages.

The described implementation of the process 800 identifies content shared between a set of two users. Other implementations of the process 800 may be used to identify content shared among user sets of other sizes. For example, another implementation of the process 800 may be used to identify whether a portion of content included in electronic messages associated with three users is common to all three electronic messages, and to provide an indication of the common content.

Furthermore, the process 800 may be executed multiple times for multiple different sets of users, or for multiple different subsets of the set of users. Indications of common content for each of the multiple different sets may be provided simultaneously. For example, in implementations where the set of users is a participant list, indications of common content may be provided on the participant list interface as different groups, icons, or colors of highlighting.

The process 800 may be executed automatically or in response to a user request. For example, the process 800 may be executed periodically on a recurring basis. Each time that the process 800 is executed, the user may be asked to confirm whether an indication of users that maintain common content should be presented. Furthermore, a user may be enabled to indicate that the process 800 should not be executed automatically or without a user request.

Each execution of the process 800 may update an indication of users that maintain common content that was provided in response to a previous execution of the process 800. For example, an execution of the process 800 may result in users being added to or removed from a group in the participant list that was created in response to a previous execution of the process 800. If a group becomes empty, then the group may be removed from the participant list automatically. More generally, indications of users that maintain common content may be presented until the user indicates that they no longer should be presented, for a predetermined amount of time, or while other criteria for presentation remain satisfied.

Referring to FIGS. 9A-9C, the participant list interface 200 of FIG. 2 may be augmented with additional information after the process 800 of FIG. 8 is executed to identify content that is common to electronic messages associated with multiple users included in the displayed participant list 205. Before the interfaces 200 illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9C are presented, the process 800 has been executed multiple times. One execution of the process 800 determined that a first of set users corresponding to the identifiers 210 a and 210 c are located at the same bar. Another execution determined that a second set of users corresponding to the identifiers 210 b and 210 f are located near a user of the interface 200, and another execution determined that a third set of users corresponding to the identifiers 210 b and 210 e are watching a football game. Consequently, the participant list interface 200 is augmented to visually indicate that, for each of the three sets of users identified by the repeated executions of the process 800, a portion of content is common to electronic messages associated with the users included in the set.

For example, in the implementation illustrated in FIG. 9A, an additional group has been created in the participant list 205 for each of the three sets of users. For example, a group 215 e has been created for the identifiers 210 a and 210 c, a group 215 f has been created for the identifiers 210 b and 210 f, and a group 215 g has been created for the identifiers 210 b and 210 e. Consequently, the identifiers 210 a, 210 b, 210 c, 210 e and 210 f are associated with multiple groups within the participant list 205.

In the implementation illustrated in FIG. 9B, icons that are representative of each of the three sets of users are displayed next to the identifiers of the users included in the first set. For example, the icons 905 a and 905 b are displayed next to the identifiers 210 a and 210 c, respectively, to indicate that the users corresponding to the identifiers 210 a and 210 c are included in the set of users located at the bar. Similarly, the icons 910 a and 910 b are displayed next to the identifiers 210 b and 210 f, respectively, to indicate that the users corresponding to the identifiers 210 b and 210 f are included in the set of users located near the user of the participant list interface 200. In addition, the icons 915 a and 915 b are displayed next to the identifiers 210 b and 210 e, respectively, to indicate that the users corresponding to the identifiers 210 b and 210 e are included in the set of users that are watching a football game.

Referring to FIG. 9C, each of the icons 905 a, 905 b, 910 a, 910 b, 915 a, and 915 b may be selectable from the interface 200 to reveal information describing the corresponding set of users and the common content shared among the users included in the set. For example, a pointing device 920 may be used to select the icon 910 b that is associated with the identifier 210 f. In response, a tool tip 925 is displayed to indicate that the user corresponding to the identifier 210 f is in a library with the user corresponding to the identifier 210 b. The icon 910 b corresponds to the second set of users that are located near the user of the participant list interface 200. The tooltip 925 may indicate that the user corresponding to the identifier 210 f is in the library because the user of the participant list interface 200 has indicated that he is in the library, or because an electronic message associated with the user indicates the he is in the library.

In the implementations illustrated in FIGS. 9A-9C, the identifiers 210 a-210 h have not been moved from their original positions within the participant list 205, which may enable the user of the interface 200 to easily identify the identifiers 210 a-210 c from within the participant list 205. In other implementations, the identifiers 210 a-210 h may be moved from their original positions within the participant list 205 when augmenting the participant list 205 with additional information identifying the three sets of users. The user of the interface 200 may be presented with a notification that the additional information is being added to the interface 200. The user may be enabled to accept the additional information such that the three sets of users are visually identified in the participant list interface 200. Alternatively, the user may dismiss the additional information, in which case the participant list interface 200 is not changed. The user also may be enabled to accept some of the additional information, such as information identifying one or two of the three sets, and to dismiss the rest of the additional information.

Referring to FIG. 9D, the instant messaging interface 600 of FIG. 6 may be used to identify multiple users from a set of users with stored electronic messages that include common content. The instant messaging interface 600 may be presented after execution of the process 800 has completed. More particularly, the process 800 may have been executed to identify users from a set of users that attended a particular college with stored electronic messages that include common content. Results of the execution of the process 800 have been sent to a user for whom the process 800 was executed as an instant message, and the interface 600 may have been presented to the user in response to those results. The message history box 605 of the interface 600 includes a message 930 that indicates that three users from the set of users (e.g., users named “CollegeBuddy,” “CollegeRoommate,” and “ProfessorJones”) have common content within their electronic messages. Furthermore, the message 930 indicates that the common content indicates that the three identified users are at the bar on Lake Street.

Referring to FIG. 10, a process 1000 is executed to identify users located at a common location. The common location may be indicated by electronic content associated with the identified user, such as electronic messages describing the identified users. The process 1000 may be executed by a client device used by an IM server, such as the IM server 102 of FIG. 1. For example, the process 800 may be executed by an IM manger application of the IM server, such as the IM manager application 104 of FIG. 1. Alternatively or additionally, the process 1000 may be executed by a client device of a user for whom the co-located users are identified, such as one of the client devices 108 a and 108 b of FIG. 1. For ease of discussion, the process 1000 will be described below as being performed by the IM server.

The IM server detects that a first user included in a participant list of a user is in physical proximity to a geographic location (1005). The IM server also detects that a second user included in the participant list of the user is in physical proximity to the geographic location (1010). The geographic location may be a building, a street, an intersection, a business, a residence, or another location. The first and second users both may be in physical proximity to the geographic location if the first and second users are both within a threshold distance of the geographic location or of one another. The IM server may detect the geographic locations of the first and second users as the geographic locations of mobile devices used by the first and second users. The mobile devices may include Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers that may be used to detect the geographic locations of the mobile devices. Alternatively or additionally, the mobile devices may determine their geographic locations through triangulation based on distances to at least three systems with which the mobile devices communicate, such as cellular telephone towers.

In one implementation, the mobile devices may provide the geographic locations to the IM server directly. In another implementation, the mobile devices may include indications of the geographic locations in electronic messages including information describing the first and second users, and the IM server may access the geographic location from the electronic messages. In some implementations, the first and second users may be enabled to modify or augment the automatically identified geographic locations, for example, with a name.

Alternatively or additionally, the first and second users may manually specify the geographic locations. For example, the first and second users may include indications of the geographic locations in the electronic messages, and the IM server may access the electronic messages to detect the geographic locations. The IM server may access the electronic messages from away message repositories corresponding to client systems used by the first and second users. For example, if the first user uses the client system 108 b of FIG. 1, the IM server may access the electronic message of the first user from the away message repository 112 b of FIG. 1. Alternatively or additionally, the IM server may access local copies of the electronic messages.

The first and second users may be selected manually by the user of the participant list. Alternatively or additionally, the first and second users may be selected automatically by the client device, for example, while processing the entire participant list. In one implementation, the first user or the second user is the user of the participant list rather than a user included in the participant list. The first and second users may or may not be available to send and receive electronic messages. The first user or the second user may be selected in response to a change in a corresponding electronic message. In such a case, the first or second user may be selected to enable determination of whether the change in the first or second electronic message results in the first and second electronic messages having common content.

Without first receiving a request from the user of the participant list, the IM server provides an indication that the first and second users are each in physical proximity to the geographic location (1015). In one implementation, the client device provides a visual indication of the common location on a participant list interface in which the participant list is presented to the user, such as the interface 200 of FIG. 2. For example, the client device may add a group for identifiers of the first and second users to the participant list displayed in the participant list interface. The client device also may highlight the identifiers of the first and second users within the participant list. The client device may display a graphical icon that is indicative of the common content next to the identifiers of the first and second users within the participant list. In another implementation, the client device may provide an audible indication of the common content. For example, the client device may audibly read the identifiers of the first and second users or the common content to the user of the participant list.

The IM server may continue to detect the geographic locations of the first and second users, as described above. The IM server may automatically update the indication that the first and second users are each in physical proximity to the geographic location based on the locations of the first and second users (1020). For example, the IM server may detect that one or both of the first and second users has moved away from the geographic location. In such a case, the IM server may remove or stop providing the indication that the first and second users are each in physical proximity to the geographic location.

The described implementation of the process 1000 identifies a location shared among a set of two users. Other implementations of the process 1000 may be used to identify a location shared among sets of users of other sizes. For example, another implementation of the process 1000 may be used to identify whether three users are in a common location, and to provide an indication of the common location.

Furthermore, the process 1000 may be executed multiple times for multiple different sets of users included in the participant list. Indications of a common location for each of the multiple different sets may be provided simultaneously. For example, indications of each of the common locations may be provided on the participant list interface as different groups, icons, or colors of highlighting.

Referring to FIG. 11, the participant list interface 200 of FIG. 2 may be augmented with additional information after the process 1000 of FIG. 10 is executed to identify multiple users included in the displayed participant list 205 that are at a common location. Before the interface 200 illustrated in FIG. 11 is presented, the process 1000 has been executed multiple times. One execution of the process 1000 determined that a first set of users corresponding to the identifiers 210 a and 210 c are located at the same bar. Another execution determined that a second set of users corresponding to the identifiers 210 b and 210 d are located near a user of the interface 200, and another execution determined that a third set of users corresponding to the identifiers 210 h and 210 f are located in a computer lab. Consequently, the participant list interface 200 is augmented to visually indicate that, for each of the three sets of users identified by the repeated executions of the process 1000, a portion of content is common to electronic messages associated with the users included in the set.

An additional group has been created in the participant list 205 for each of the three sets of users. For example, a group 215 e has been created for the identifiers 210 a and 210 c, a group 215 f has been created for the identifiers 210 b and 210 f, and a group 215 g has been created for the identifiers 210 b and 210 e. Consequently, the identifiers 210 a, 210 b, 210 c, 210 d, 210 f and 210 h are associated with multiple groups within the participant list 205. Similarly, highlighting or icons may be used to visually identify the users included in each of the three sets. The highlighted identifiers or the icons may be selected to reveal information describing the three sets, for example, within a tooltip or a pop-up window.

Referring to FIG. 12, a system 1200 is used to identify a geographic location of a client system 108 a for use with an IM application 110 a. A GPS application 1205 of the client system 108 a communicates with satellite devices 1210 a-1210 c to identify a location of the mobile device. The client system 108 a also may communicate with a map server 1215 and a directory server 1220 through a network 106. The client system 108 a also includes an away message repository 112 a and a common name repository 1225. The network 106, the client system 108 a, the IM application 110 a, and the away message repository 112 a are similar to corresponding components from FIG. 1.

The GPS application 1205 is configured to determine a location of the client system 108 a. The GPS application 1205 may include a GPS receiver and a location determination module. The GPS receiver is configured to communicate with the satellite devices 1210 a-1210 c. Based on the signals received from the satellite devices 1210 a-1210 c, the location determination module calculates a distance to each of the satellite devices 1210 a-1210 c. The location determination module then may determine the location of the client system 108 a based on the calculated distances to the satellite devices 1210 a-1210 c. The GPS application 1205 may determine the location of the client system 108 a as latitude and longitude coordinates, which are also known as GPS coordinates.

The map server 1215 provides addresses or other representations of locations identified by the GPS application 1205. For example, the GPS application 1205 may provide the map server 1215 with the latitude and longitude coordinates identifying the location of the client system 108 a. In response, the map server may identify an address, a name, or another representation of the location of the client system 108 a. In some implementations, the functionality provided by the map server 1215 may be included in the GPS application 1205.

The directory server 1220 also provides information about the location of the client system 108 a. More particularly, given GPS coordinates or an address from the GPS application 1205 or the map server 1215, the directory server 1220 may provide a name of the location. For example, if the client system 108 a is located at a business, the directory server 1220 may provide a name of the business in response to the address. As another example, if the client system 108 a is located at a residence, the directory server 1220 may provide the name of a person that lives at the residence. In some implementations, the directory server also may be configured to provide additional information describing the location, such as a phone number of the location. In some implementations, the functionality provided by the directory server 1220 may be included in the GPS application 1205.

The common name repository 1225 stores alternative representations of the locations of the client system 108 a that were identified by the GPS application 1205. For example, the common name repository 1225 may store names and other information describing the locations that were provided by the map server 1215 or the directory server 1220, or by a user of the client system 108 a. The stored names and descriptive information for the previous locations may be used when the client system 108 a is subsequently located at one of the previous locations without having to identify the name or descriptive information again.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a computing device 1300 that may be included within the IM server 102 and/or the client devices 108 a and 108 b. The computing device 1300 may represent a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or a mobile computing device, such as a portable computer, a mobile telephone, or a PDA. The computing device 1300 includes a processor 1305, a memory 1310, an input/output controller 1315, a GPS receiver 1320, a network adapter 1325, and a storage device 1330. Each of the components 1305, 1310, 1315, 1320, 1325 and 1330 are interconnected using a system bus 1335.

The processor 1305 is capable of processing instructions for execution within the computing device 1300. In one implementation, the processor 1305 is a single-threaded processor. In another implementation, the processor 1305 is a multi-threaded processor. The processor 1305 is capable of processing instructions stored in the memory 1310 or on the storage device 1325 to display graphical information for a GUI on an external input/output device that is coupled to the input/output controller 1315.

The memory 1310 stores information within the computing device 1300. In one implementation, the memory 1310 is a computer-readable medium. In one implementation, the memory 1310 is a volatile memory unit. In another implementation, the memory 1310 is a non-volatile memory unit.

The input/output controller 1315 manages input/output operations for the computing device 1300. In one implementation, the input/output controller 1315 is coupled to an external input/output device, such as a keyboard, a pointing device, or a display unit that is capable of displaying various GUIs, such as the GUIs shown in the previous figures, to a user.

The GPS receiver 1320 is similar to the GPS application 1205 of FIG. 12. The GPS receiver 1320 is configured to receive signals from multiple GPS satellites, such as the satellite devices 1210 a-1210 c of FIG. 12, and to use the received signals to calculate a location of the computing device 1300, for example, as GPS coordinates.

The computing device 1300 uses the network adapter 1325 to communicate with other network devices. If, for example, the client device 108 a is a mobile device that includes the computing device 1300, the computing device 1300 uses its network adapter 1325 to communicate with the host server 106 over a wireless connection.

The storage device 1330 is capable of providing mass storage for the computing device 1300. In one implementation, the storage device 1330 is a computer-readable medium. In various different implementations, the storage device 1330 may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, or a tape device.

In one implementation, a computer program product is tangibly embodied in an information carrier. The computer program product contains instructions that, when executed, perform one or more methods, such as those described above. The information carrier is a computer- or machine-readable medium, such as the memory 1310, the storage device 1330, or a propagated signal.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A method of displaying electronic information in an instant-messaging application, the method comprising: accessing a first electronic message that provides information describing a first user that has an identifier included in a set of identifiers of users of an instant messaging application; accessing a second electronic message that provides information describing a second user that has an identifier included in the set of identifiers of users of an instant messaging application; analyzing content contained within the first and second electronic messages to determine that at least a portion of the content is common to both the first and second electronic messages; and based upon the content analysis, indicating to a user whether the first and second electronic messages include common content. 2-42. (canceled) 